Democrats get it

The Note suggests those Democrats that still don't "get it" go and take a look Steve Groopman's piece in TNR, HOW LIBERALS PLAY INTO KARL ROVE'S HANDS.Of course The Note is already comfortable feeding out of Rove's palm, and so naturally they'd suggest an article that seems to indicate that Democrats take seriously Bush's ends while not always agreeing with his means.

It reminded me of something Josh Marshall wrote a few weeks ago about the brewing crisis in Iran:

The prospect of a nuclearized Iran seems far more perilous to me than anything we faced or seemed likely to face with Iraq. But for those of us trying to think through how to deal with this situation, we have to start from the premise that there is no Iran Question, or whatever you want to call it. There's only how to deal with Iran with this administration in place.

Do you trust this White House's good faith, priorities or competence in dealing with this situation?

Based on everything I've seen in almost five years the answer is pretty clearly 'no' on each count. To my thinking that has to be the starting point of the discussion.

Any discussion of "spreading freedom" or ending terrorism that doesn't take into account the administration's incompetence in dealing with these very issues is, as Marshall writes earlier in his piece, a "parlor game."

So, how can people like Groopman expect Democrats not to laugh when Bush utters the words "terror" or "weapons of mass destruction." These words have come to symbolize administration incompetence. Or, has Groopman already forgotten that Bush sent American troops to die for WMDs that didn't exist and that in the last month both Bin Laden and Zawahiri remain free as birds churning out videos like Britney Spears.